At least nine people have been arrested as tensions in a southern Chinese village remained high yesterday following a confrontation with paramilitary forces last week that left up to 30 locals dead, residents said.
Villagers said they were living in fear because authorities were still searching for about 140 people considered the most active demonstrators and had posted their pictures on fugitive notices on the streets.
The arrests were announced on local TV after the Chinese government admitted over the weekend that the paramilitary forces last Tuesday had opened fire on residents of Dongzhou Village, Shanwei City in Guangdong Province.
"Shanwei TV station said three of the nine people arrested are considered Dongzhou people's representatives while the others were people who participated in the protest," a man surnamed Chen told reporters.
The reported arrests could not be independently confirmed. Local police refused to comment.
Last week's confrontation arose from villagers' dissatisfaction over inadequate compensation the government offered for taking their land to build a big coal-fired power plant, locals have said.
State media over the weekend put the death toll from the riot at three, saying eight others were injured. The official figure was far below many villagers' estimates that as many as 30 people had died.
Residents said some 2,000 to 3,000 troops from the People's Armed Police, a unit under the Chinese military that opened fire last week, had the village under 24-hour surveillance yesterday.
"The situation is still very tense. They're searching for people who may be hiding in the [nearby] hill ... they're also checking the IDs of people entering and leaving the village," Chen said.
Official media has blamed the shooting on villagers attacking troops with fishing detonators, dynamite powder and bottles filled with petroleum.
But villagers steadfastly rejected yesterday the official death toll and version of events.
"We definitely don't believe what they're saying," one woman said.
She and others said there were 40 to 50 people still missing.
Another villager said families of missing people were distraught at not knowing the fate of their loved ones.
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